A sudden change

Loki agreed to the mission from the Time Variance Authority, but many details still needed to be carefully discussed and arranged by a group of people.

It shouldn't cause Xia Yu any trouble for the time being.

Xia Yu, however, is facing a problem.

After shamelessly deceiving Red Skull's feelings, Red Skull, who was pushed off a cliff, simply vanished.

A mental scan revealed nothing below. Xia Yu considered jumping down to investigate, but he was hesitant, as the Soul Stone was the most powerful of the Six Infinity Stones.

In his previous life, when Xia Yu watched many video analyses and introductions about the Infinity Stones, someone once said that the Soul Stone might have its own thoughts and could even manipulate the other Infinity Stones remotely.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why Red Skull left Earth with the Tesseract, why the cosmic magic remained on Earth, and why Red Skull was sent to Vormir as the guardian of the Soul Stone.

It felt like a mastermind behind everything, and Xia Yu knew that ever since he transmigrated to this world, a mastermind had been driving everything, which he believed to be the person behind the system.

Although Xia Yu didn't know the other party's purpose, at least both sides were safe for now, because their goals were the same: to fight against this universe, or rather, fate, or Gaia Consciousness.

However, if the Soul Stone has its own consciousness, that consciousness should be on the side of this universe, and Xia Yu doesn't have the confidence to directly confront it now.

Xia Yu was hesitating when he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Turning around, the Red Skull reappeared out of thin air, and this time, the Red Skull's eyes held an overwhelming hatred for Xia Yu.

It wasn't the kind of hatred that comes from a father exploiting and abandoning his child; it was the kind of hatred that comes from being manipulated.

Xia Yu was so certain because he could sense that the reappearing Red Skull's spirit, which had been influenced by Xia Yu, had recovered.

"Not only did you not die, you even broke free from my mental control. This is beyond your capabilities! Who helped you? The Soul Stone?"

Xia Yu narrowed his eyes and coldly asked the Red Skull.

The hatred in Red Skull's eyes did not diminish, but he did not directly attack or verbally abuse Xia Yu. Instead, he spoke in a very formulaic manner.

"To obtain the Soul Stone, you must exchange it for the soul of your most beloved person. Otherwise, you will not be able to obtain the Soul Stone. You must make a choice, or you can stay here and continue to ponder."

"You can't attack me, right? Even though you can't hide your anger anymore, you still can't attack. You didn't die after falling, you reappeared here, and you even broke free from my control, yet you can't attack me. Are you cursed to be the guardian of the Soul Stone, or have you simply become a spirit that can only be attached to the Soul Stone?"

As Xia Yu spoke, he considered certain possibilities in his mind, such as trying to kill Red Skull directly again.

"I am not a ghost. I have my own body. Once someone takes the Soul Stone, my curse will be completely lifted, and I will be able to leave this place."

Red Skull felt inexplicably flustered by Xia Yu's words, and he suddenly felt that what Xia Yu said might be completely correct.

He might have been used as a disposable tool by the Soul Stone, something that could be discarded after use.

Xia Yu didn't argue with Red Skull, but simply smiled and said...

"You'll know once you try it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he flashed back to Red Skull.

He grabbed Red Skull by the neck.

"What... what are you going to do?"

Red Skull was a powerful figure on Earth, but decades of imprisonment made him incredibly afraid of death. He wasn't afraid of death itself, but rather of dying before the curse was lifted.

Xia Yu didn't answer his question. Instead, a large amount of destructive energy surged from his palm, crushing the Red Skull to pieces.

It was like my whole body burst open, like a balloon.

Unlike normal flesh, which would crush a neck or head, but at least leaves traces of limbs and flesh, Red Skull just exploded out of thin air.

Nothing was left behind; they simply vanished without a trace, even the black robe disappeared without a trace.

However, Xia Yu was more cautious this time. The instant the Red Skull exploded, he clearly felt a flash of energy that returned him directly to the altar below the cliff.

This feeling is similar to Dormammu's spirit escaping, but it's also somewhat different from a typical spirit.

In Huaxia terms, could it be considered a trace of true spirit?

Or perhaps it should be called a sliver of consciousness? Xia Yu shook his head, not wanting to think about what it should be called, but instead focused his gaze on the place where the Red Skull had just reappeared.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Red Skull reappeared out of thin air in the same spot.

This time, Xia Yu didn't hesitate at all and grabbed his neck again.

They didn't even wait for Red Skull to speak.

"Bang!!"

The Red Skull exploded again, but this time, Xia Yu was fully prepared. The moment the Red Skull's true spirit flickered, Xia Yu caught it in his palm.

Before Xia Yu could decide whether to kill the Red Skull directly or what to do, a tremendous suction force emanated from the altar at the bottom of the cliff.

Despite Xia Yu's strength, he actually felt his palm was a little unsteady. The wisp of the Red Skull's true spirit was trembling wildly in Xia Yu's palm. If Xia Yu was not careful, this wisp of true spirit would immediately slip out of his hand and return to the altar below.

Moreover, the suction force was getting stronger and stronger, and Xia Yu's hands were trembling violently. It was only a matter of time before he was swept away by it.

Although Xia Yu hadn't figured out what to do, he couldn't just let it be sucked away. With a heavy heart, he channeled his energy into the hand, surrounding the wisp of true spirit with layers of energy.

Just in case, Xia Yu even used Aether to add another layer of physical defense on the outside.

This suction force was completely ineffective, and after a while, the altar below seemed to have given up on the idea of reclaiming the true spirit.

Xia Yu's hands returned to calm.

Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

But...

In an instant, that wisp of true spirit actually pierced through Xia Yu's energy defense and crashed directly into the Aether.

After several unsuccessful attempts to strike, it suddenly turned around and rushed directly into Xia Yu's body.

"Not good!!"

Xia Yu was startled. Before he could make any move, he felt a buzzing sound in his mind.

A wisp of Red Skull's true spirit had already rushed directly into his own spiritual world.